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Friday, May 18, 2012

I recently gave you an update on our super exciting and looong project list. One of the easiest ones of all was going to be the white dresser in our dressing room. The reason I selected this one first, was because I had cheated and purchased all of the supplies awhile back, so I had everything I needed on hand now. And, many of you seemed most interested in that one as well, so it worked out swimmingly!

Here she was in her previous state:

Pretty boring eh?

But first, let's chat about the rest of the room. Originally we had the dresser between our armoires. Then, for some reason we moved it. I thought a vanity would look better than the dresser in that location. But as we have been living with it, it absolutely makes no layout sense to have the dresser across the room from the rest of the clothes? So when thinking about the design, we had to keep in mind that it was going to be in front of a really busy wall.

The plan I had in my brain, was to go to the home improvement store and find some very thin wood trim to affix to the front, just to give it some more dimension. I went, I didn't find anything that I loved. Or that wouldn't cause my husband 564 cuts. Then, the fabulous blog world introduced me to Overlays. The super easy and lovely way to quickly update IKEA furniture. Consider me a fan. I found a promo code and ordered four of these. They were exactly what I envisioned doing with trim, but without all the work off cutting.

When they arrived, I got right to work painting them. I selected a grellow color that I had color matched to the stripe duvet in the adjoining master bedroom:

I just placed the Overlays on a box and painted with a brush. Super simple.

Along with the Overlays, I wanted to add some drawer pulls, but I didn't want anything that would compete too much, so I went with simple glass knobs I found on eBay.

The update was pretty simple. We started out by laying things out on the drawer fronts first, just to get an idea where we wanted the knobs and Overlays to be placed. Then, we measured:

And installed the knobs:

Next we used a small tube of Liquid Nails to affix the Overlays to the drawer fronts:

We found that we had a very small time frame to wiggle the Overlay in the correct spot, with a quick tape measure check, and then it set quite quickly.

So here you can see a natural progression:

The best part of any project is putting it all back together. The dresser was moved to it's new home between the armoires:

As you may also notice, this update was a trickle effect to another update. My necklace display went from bright yellow boarder to simple floral fabric.

The yellow just wasn't right. And the tin graphic over the cork wasn't right either. It's OK, I know I make mistakes all the time. It is about learning and growing right? That's what I tell myself anyway. And I can reuse the tin for another project, so nothing lost. The new display is still the same cork, now just with fabric over the front, which is a much more simple look. It also gives me more hanging space since I removed the frame's matte.

But back to the dresser, I really love the difference the painted Overlays and new knobs made to the simple, inexpensive IKEA dresser!

So chic and pretty! How about a before and after to save your scrolling fingers:

And, it feels just wonderful to have another project checked off the list! Once the paint dried, the whole project only took about an hour {while also watching Hulu so we were a bit distracted}.

Anyone knocking a project off the ol' list this weekend? Who else is a giant Overlays fan?

87 comments:

I have the mini bedside dressers from Ikea's Malm collection in dark brown. For a while now I've wanted to make them distressed and add some hardware.. but I thought the edges would be too sharp for the style I was looking for (shabby chic) - now with this idea I'm thinking it will work.. thanks so much :)

I am in love with the overlay project. How SIMPLE! I've been reading your blog for a few weeks now, and you are such an inspiration. I know I'm not the first to say that! But my goodness, you make my salvation-army-shopping life so much brighter!

Jen, I need to know if there is an easier way to look at one of your older posts, without scrolling all the way down to find it? And do your older posts eventually get moved to project galery? I think it would be great if you could organize your older posts into the front page with a tab of it own. Anyways, I love all your ideas!!! And it's really a blessing to read your blog!!!

Try the search bar or the blog label section. If you know what you are looking for like the playroom, you can hit that label and it will take you to all posts on the playroom. Or if you know when the post was, go into the archives.

I do have a project gallery tab, however, it's not exactly current, however, as other readers mentioned you can do a search or select the labels on the sidebar of the blog. A better project gallery is absolutely on my list of "to do's"

SO, SO, SO, SOOOOO pretty!!! I have been looking at those Overlays for a while bc our PAX wardrobes have plain white doors -- now I am just totally inspired! LOVE the idea of using liquid nails, and those drawer pulls just make it look so chic. Another gorgeous project, Jen!! You are amazing!

Had no idea they made overlays like that- I think in black over white furniture would be beautiful too! So cool- I also really do like the floral fabric- it just works so well. I also liked you "I make mistakes too" comment, not that I didn't like the yellow but nice to know I'm not the only one who does a project..and it turns out fine but not as amazing as I had hoped for so I continue to tinker with and update :-)

Thanks! I am always tweaking things until I get them just right. Sometimes it takes me a couple of goes at it until it sticks {and sometimes one change then trickles to another}, but I have learned to accept that is 100% OK. :)

I had never heard of the overlays. Love the ideas - ALL OF THEM. The back of our headboard is a huge 24 drawer unit, that we built ourselves, so now, I am wondering where else I could use these wonderful little inventions.

Also, I adore your jewelry display. I just don't feel I have the appropriate place for it, but...that doesn't stop me from thinking about creating one... Hmm, just don't let my husband read this... :-0

I heard of Overlays a while back and I think that they are GENIUS! I moved away from Ikea and am heartbroken. I now have a house that I can use furniture for and I am dying for Ikea. The closest one to Nashville is Atlanta. Insert loud crying .... Lesley

Lesley,Would Charlotte be easier/closer to you? I am an Eastern NC gal and unfortunately Charlotte is still the closest (the next would be the one near DC). Heading through Charlotte in a few weeks and my hubby is already dreading it! I've got lots of pent up IKEA shopping to take care of!Allison

Looking good! I really like that fabric you used on your jewelry frame. We have two of those Malm dressers in our closet. It made a huge difference in appearance when we added handles to them (we got long satin nickel ones). They no longer looked quite so IKEA.

That is OK Mrs. B. I really love the fabric {I have been having the hardest time finding colors that work with the wall color}, and the best part is that it's just a small piece of fabric that I can continue to swap out easily. In person, I don't have a hard time at all seeing which necklace is which.

Sometimes Ikea furniture just screams "I'm from Ikea!!!" Don't get me wrong, I'm a total Ikea junkie... but the Malm especially has that Ikea look. Your very simple touches make a world of difference and now it looks like a hip boutique piece of furniture. Totally fun!

I love that this simple update makes the dresser look so, so different. You can't even tell that it came from Ikea anymore. I love idea furniture but sometimes it can be a little too flat and simple, now this is a piece that wows!

So simple and pretty! It looks great, and I love the new fabric also. My question is, what are you going to do with the jewelry thats color clashes with the fabric? Because you know that will just drive you crazy, right? ; )

You are funny! I don't own too many necklaces, but I think that anything will pop nicely against the fabric, or add some interest anyway. And, because it's just a small piece of fabric, it's totally changeable someday if I wish. But for now, I am loving it! :)

Use a small drill bit and drill slowly (don't power through!) from front to inside--it will probably be less awkward that way, too. Any shavings or rough edges from the hole will be on the inside, which you can sand away. IKEA furniture is easy to modify!

I read your blot almost every day and this is one of my favorite posts yet! Probably because it seems like it was pretty simple to do but had incredible results...those are my favorite kinds of diy projects haha.

Oh, I have been wanting to try those. They look fantastic. It's crazy what a little bit of detail can do. And I really like the dwell studio fabric you switched up. Super cute. I wonder if they make those for the little rast dresser. I need to check!

Jen- You used to have a little white single charger on your nightstand that you mentioned you got from Target's clearance section a long long while back Did you get rid of it? I didn't see it in your pictures! (I've yet to find the single charger I also have the large black one from Pottery Barn)

Hi Jen, I discovered you in your spread in BHG and I've been hooked ever since! You have great taste and ideas and you have been an inspiration to me. The question I have for you is one that I've never seen on your site. How do you use spray adhesive without making a mess? How do you contain the spray so that it doesn't go on stuff other than your project?

P.S. Your MALM dresser now looks like a classic piece of furniture. One would never know it came from IKEA! Well done!

Beautiful job on the dresser! This article caught my eye as I was searching for wall borders/overlays. I'm looking for a wall border that is similar to what you have on yours however I'd like the corners to have an angled look... exactly like the Ikea ones! I don't want to cut and measure. Do you know where I can purchase pre-cut large wall borders?

Hey Jen, I know this post is old and I love your DIY makeover of the malm. I currently have 6 in our home in our closets. I am looking at buying two more as night stands. Of course I would love for them to be a little dressier than a plain IKEA malm. My question - What thickness did you use for your dresser? Their website has 1/8 or 1/4 and 1/2 (custom thickness) Thanks.

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